Horror hit It Comes at Night is coming to New Zealand after all

Horror fans can sleep easy - at least until July. Break out horror hit It Comes At Night will screen in New Zealand theatres after all.

The film, described by one reviewer as "beautiful and harrowing", has been creeping out American cinema-goers since its release earlier this month.

But no New Zealand theatre screenings were planned. Until today.

The New Zealand International Film Festival this evening confirmed It Comes at Night would play as part of the festival when it kicks off in July.

A scene from It Comes at Night.

The film follows a man trying to protect his family as an "unnatural threat terrorises the world".

The film's trailer shows the family holed up in a desolate cabin surrounded by trees, only venturing outside during the day, and battening down the hatches at night.

It stars Carmen Ejogo, Christopher Abbott, Joel Edgerton and Riley Keough and has an 87 per cent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where critics have been raving about it.

"For much of its brisk running time, It Comes at Night teeters between delicious atmosphere and almost unbearable tension," wrote the Washington Post.

The Boston Globe praised the film's ending, and said it "gets very far under the skin".

"The final scenes are both ambiguous and terrifying, and they left a preview audience as shaken as any I've seen. I had the distinct feeling, though, that a lot of them wouldn't be recommending the movie to their friends."

And IGN said: "It Comes at Night is emotional, haunting dystopian horror that will leave you shaken."

But not everyone has been impressed. "It Comes at Night is about as enjoyable for the audience as it is for the people in the movie," wrote the San Francisco Chronicle.

"On both sides of the screen, misery reigns."

The film festival kicks off in Auckland on July 14. See the full line-up here.